The Nikon Coolpix A, sits at the very top of the Coolpix range and features a DX, or APS-C size sensor — the very same sensor as can be found in the D7000 DSLR.
Although this is not quite a jeans pocketable camera, it’s remarkably small considering the size of the sensor. As a trade off, you get a fixed, 18.5 — or 28mm equivalent — lens, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8.
Here Amy Davies takes a look at what Nikon’s latest premium compact camera has to offer in her Nikon Coolpix A review video.
This is the Nikon Coolpix A, a compact camera which sits at the very top of the Coolpix range and features a DX, or APS-C size sensor – the very same sensor as can be found in the D7000 DSLR.
Although this is not quite a jeans pocketable camera, it's remarkably small considering the size of the sensor. As a trade off, you get a fixed, 18.5 – or 28mm equivalent – lens, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8.
There's no hand grip on the camera, but this small strip on the front of the camera helps give extra purchase, especially when shooting one-handed.
Like many premium compacts, this camera has full manual control, with access to the manual mode, and semi-automatic modes, such as aperture and shutter priority found on this dial here. There's also space for upto two groups of user defined settings – particularly useful if you often find yourself shooting in a given scenario, such as low light.
For further convenience, there are two function buttons. These can be found on the back of the camera here, and the second on the front. Here you can assign various settings, such as ISO or white balance, for quick access.
The focusing mode can be changed via this switch on the side of the camera, allowing you to change between autofocus, to macro and manual focusing. Macro focusing needs to be activated if you want to shoot fairly close-up as otherwise we found the camera can struggle.
If activating manual focusing, this ring around the lens is used for fine-tuning the focus. It's a shame that this ring can't be used for other settings – such as aperture, or shutter speed – when it's not being used in manual focusing mode, as otherwise it's redundant. Instead, this dial here is used to make changes to aperture or shutter speed, coupling up with the dial around the OK button when in fully manual mode.
To change the autofocus point, first you need to hit the OK button and then use the arrow keys to scroll around the screen to the point you need. It's a little bit of a long-winded process, and would have been speedier with a touchscreen.
With its large sensor and high asking price, we had great expectations for the Coolpix A. While image quality is great, there is noticeable vignetting, even when shooting at mid-range apertures of f/8.
Focusing speeds are also a little lacklustre, making it a little slow for the street photographer that this camera is so very clearly aimed at.
On the plus side, detail and colour is fantastic, and you really do get DSLR quality images from a pocket sized device. Full manual control and raw shooting capabilities are an extra bonus.
No comments:
Post a Comment